


The Garden (of Sins)

by fourredfruits



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Also something about virus, Alternate Universe, Angels, Avengers as avenging angels, Azrael!Bucky, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Christianity, Fallen Angels, FrostIron - Freeform, Gabriel!Loki, Gen, Lucifer is not Satan, Lucifer!Tony, M/M, Michael!Steve, Possibly Pre-Slash, Pre-Slash, Ramiel!Thor, Raphael!Bruce, Raziel!Natasha, Uriel!Clint, winteriron
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-21
Updated: 2015-03-25
Packaged: 2018-03-18 22:39:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3586677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fourredfruits/pseuds/fourredfruits
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was the first to leave the Garden. He wasn't the last.<br/>or<br/>In which everyone is an angel except SHIELD personnel, God is nowhere to be seen, Lucifer isn't Satan but is instead Tony Stark.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How come I never knew about the Avengers as Avenging Angels AUs before? like, how could I possibly not know?  
> This is what happened when I finally found out those exist. I couldn't help it. I just wanted one with Bucky in it because he is my precious angel. I also wanted Tony and Steve to hate each other 80% and love each other like 5%, I haven't decided on where to use the rest of the percentage, and half-evil and insane and half-sweet and sane Gabriel!Loki talking to Lucifer!Tony about how he used to imagine their situations reversed. Um, but what came out is like one tenth of it. I'm not sure what I'll do with this now.  
> I just realized that I always happen to post things way past midnight while half asleep. It's a bad habit, I know. I should check for typos or something and write more helpful summaries and notes. I'll do it next time.  
> Oh, right, I almost forgot the important thing.  
> The names here can be very confusing so here is me trying to help:  
> Steve-Michael, Natasha-Raziel, Tony-Lucifer, Bruce-Raphael, Bucky-Azrael, Thor-Ramiel

 

 

 

 

As far as he could remember, the Garden wasn't anything spectacular as one would like to imagine. The ground underneath was soft and moist with patches of fresh grass but he cut the sole of his foot on the occasional small and rough-edged pieces of rock often enough to remember that it wasn't perfect. Regardless, it wasn't its imperfections but rather its ludicrous pretense at perfection that irked him to the point of leaving the place once and for all.

 

He was the first to leave.

But not the last.  

 

-

 

Raziel still prayed sometimes. At this point, most believed God to have abandoned them all but as she watched and even helped Fury finding them one by one, she knew she had to suspect something better than pure coincidence behind all this, perhaps someone more cruel and powerful. She watched warily as 'Tony Stark' sauntered in with his mouth half open as if he was about to say something. He stopped dead in his tracks when he took notice of the others in the room. He turned his head slightly to meet her eyes through his tinted glasses.

 

There was a cold smile on his lips as he said, "My, my, I thought you were supposed to be the keeper of secrets, Raziel."

 

Even if it wasn't for the fact that he rarely called her by her real name and never when they were around humans, she could easily sense his anger radiating like an electric current in the air.

 

"This is important. Believe me, you want to know about this."

 

"You think you know what I want?"

 

He sneered in contempt.

 

"Please don't blame her, Lucifer."

 

Raziel didn't see Michael rising to his feet but now he stood tall, looking directly at them with his calm and solemn blue eyes. It was another 'pure coincidence' that they had managed to find him in the darkest part of the Arctic Ocean barely a few month ago. They all thought he was gone forever with the Garden. Lucifer gritted his teeth but she wasn't sure if it was at the mention of his name or the voice of Michael, perhaps at both. He slowly turned around to face Michael.

 

"Well, isn't this a surprise? I thought you were dead, you know."

 

"I wouldn't have wanted to disappoint you but I'm afraid our Father might have other ideas."

 

"Oh, no, no, Michael. That's such a hurtful accusation right there."

 

As Lucifer spoke flippantly, his eyes discreetly scanned the whole room taking in the information. Ramiel stood at the corner with his thickly muscled arms crossed in front of his chest. His human form was surely the most imposing one among them though it didn't matter much. When Lucifer's eyes skittered across Raphael, Raziel could detect the barest hint of a smile on his lips before it was gone. Across the corner where Ramiel loomed over, Nick Fury observed the suspicious group with his best poker face. Coulson and Hill was on his either side. They appeared as composed as ever but Raziel knew they must feel terribly confused on the inside.

 

There was a sharp pause before she heard Lucifer asking Michael,

 

"Is that Azrael behind you?"

 

Michael's expression closed off instantly and it was in a strained voice when he curtly answered,

 

"Yes."

 

"What's wrong with him?"

 

It was extremely rare to see Michael angry but Lucifer always seemed to know all the secret codes to rile him up. It seemed nothing much has changed even after the millennium they spent apart from each other. Because the topic of Azrael was precisely the one thing that Raziel could imagine would make Michael truly upset at the moment. She didn't think Lucifer was even aware of it but still, it was an uncanny ability of his.

 

"There is nothing _wrong_ with him."

 

Michael's dangerously low voice echoed with enough power to make the humans in the room cringe. Considering who those humans were, Raziel thought it would have made other people fall to their knees. However, Lucifer didn't bat an eye as he glided around the towering angel in front of him.

 

"Hey, kid."

 

Michael's patience finally snapped and he yanked away the other angel by the collar of his perfectly tailored suit but Lucifer's unblinking eyes was already riveted on the unresponsive figure at the table.

 

"Where the _fuck_ is his other _wing_?"

 

It was barely a whisper but the effect of it was nothing but that. The room fell into heavy silence. All of them, including Azrael, had their wings neatly folded in which meant they were invisible but Lucifer doubtless could feel the half of Azrael's grace missing.

Azrael was Michael's most trusted brother for as long as anyone remembered. He used to be full of good-natured mischief. He was loyal, quick-witted and one of the best warriors of God although he preferred to hide himself in Michael's shadow. Raziel always had hard time gauging Azrael's true capability. Michael's shadow was such an enormous thing, after all.

 

"Humans, wasn't it?"

 

Hostility gleamed in Lucifer's wide, brown, innocent-looking eyes. At the corner of her own eyes, Raziel saw Coulson and Hill tensing up despite their best efforts. Everyone in the room have heard or read about what happened to the famed Tony Stark in Afghanistan. An angel in human form wasn't unbreakable, once outside of the Garden, they were as mortal as they could be, haunted by the ghost of time, flesh and bones that bleed. Lucifer have been on earth for more than a thousand years, the very first one to leave the Garden.  

 

Even so, he was still unbelievably powerful and she didn't doubt it for a second. In fact, the only reason his body didn't perish throughout the torrents of time was he was _that_ powerful. It was simply that even an angel like him felt pain when people pulled out his nails, burned his skin, rubbed salt in his wounds in his much human body. He definitely couldn't survive from countless shrapnel punctures in his heart. Lucifer was many things but he was never faithful so they said he saved himself without wasting a single breath on prayer.

 

Michael finally slackened his tight grip. He did it very slowly as if it pained him to do so. Raziel took pity on the angel and stepped forward.

 

"Yes. Maybe. We don't know."

 

"What kind of answer is that?" Lucifer snarled impatiently.

 

"What they did to his brain and his left wing was far too crude for anyone who possesses sufficient knowledge about us. They wanted to use him as a weapon, that's for sure. If it was one of us, they would have done it without the unnecessary damage."

 

"One of us? What are you talking about? Why would any of us want to chop away others' wings?"

 

"That's what we wanted to talk about."

 

She then glanced at Raphael who smiled tiredly. He seemed almost shy in his ever tentative and careful movements. His downcast glances and old pair of glasses added to the unassuming impression which was ironic, seeing how he was constantly pressing down on the raging urge for blood and fire in him.

 

"Raphael."

 

Lucifer's eyes softened at the sight of his oldest friend and dearest brother.

 

"It's good to see you again, Lu."

 

"I'd say the same if I wasn't so mad at you right now for not visiting me for _decades_ , disappearing completely off the radar and all the while, apparently you were hanging out with your new best friends! But okay, we can talk about my hurt feelings later. Tell me what's going on, Raph."

 

"There were recently incidents of some angels who have become unstable, violent, hostile,"

 

Lucifer raised his brow at that as if he didn't see how it answered his question. As far as he was concerned, lots of angels were unstable, violent and hostile. Everyone called him those and much more. Raphael didn't bother to pause and continued,

 

"To an absolutely uncontrollably extent. It's a viral disease which can be contracted only by our kind and we suspect the cause to be, at least partially, prolonged exposure to the air on earth. Human technology is not equipped to even detect it since the virus doesn't exist as long as human perception is concerned. On the other hand, we can readily discern it with our eyes. The infected have yellow rings around their irises which spread inward as their condition worsens. But this isn't only our problem now because those infected pose a great threat to humans."

 

"That didn't make sense, like, at all. Prolonged exposure to the air? I've been exposed to it longer than any one of us."

 

"That's not how it works, you know that. Anyway, the few whom we've monitored so far have been the 'earlier ones' to come here."

 

Lucifer frowned at the ground in bewilderment and disbelief.

 

"The 'earlier ones'? What the,"

 

His frustrated complaint aimed abrupt broke off and he slowly lifted his head up to stare into Raphael's eyes again. Raziel already knew what he would find in Raphael's eyes, the chilling glint of faint gold.

 

"No. You're kidding. Tell me this is a joke."

 

Raphael offered him a sad smile.

 

"Sorry, Lu."

 

"Since when?"

 

"It's been a while. Mine develops at a much slower pace which gave me some time to figure it out. No, really, my body still heals much faster than others and I think it's trying to heal itself, stunting the growth of pathogens as much as possible. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."

 

"And you're telling me now because?"

 

"Gabriel has contracted the disease."

 

Ramiel's sudden voice boomed inside the closed space like thunder. It was obvious to any onlooker how restless he had been from the start. He wasn't usually like this but the news of Gabriel's worsening condition shook him terribly.

 

"He hasn't been himself."

 

He didn't try to hide the agony he felt as he bit out the words.

 

"He's my, _our_ , brother. We must save him however we can."

 

Lucifer remained unresponsive for a couple of seconds. Then he took off his ridiculous glasses with one hand and rubbed his face with another, hiding his expression from view.

 

"Wow. That is _a lot_ to take in, guys. Especially after our, I dunno, a thousand years of estrangement."

 

No one said anything. The silence lasted for a long moment before Lucifer opened his mouth again with a sigh.  

 

"Okay, okay. I get it. You still blame me for leaving but you want my help so you're giving me another chance. If it was any other day, I'd stick to my principles and damn you all to hell but honestly I'm too confused and tired now to lie about not caring. First thing is first, though. Don't _ever_ call me Lucifer because it makes me sound like I'm in an extremely unpopular death metal band and believe me, it's unpopular for a reason. You can just call me Tony, got it? Second, someone get me a measuring device already because there is no way,  _no way_ I'm leaving that kid without a wing. I don't understand how you people can be so insensitive sometimes."

 

Raziel thought she saw Azrael's eyes flickering to the direction of Lucifer's voice for a brief moment.

 

 


	2. Traitors

 

 

 

It was as if his eyes were finally open, Gabriel thought to himself. Such an overused phrase it was, yet there was no other way to adequately describe his particular experience. For eternity, he had been a pawn in someone else's game and was never aware of how his inexplicable sense of dissatisfaction, flashing in the back of his mind from time to time, was caused by the fact that he used to own nothing. Nothing, because he couldn't even own _himself_.

 

It was a brand new world that he found himself in. In this strange, beautiful and _truthful_ world, there was no God. His body and soul belonged to no one but himself. It was a shame that the others' eyes were still closed. They still thought that if they kept playing good little soldiers, _someone_ would come back and put them back in their places on the chessboard. Gabriel was at once heartbroken and disgusted by their ignorance.

 

They called it a _virus_.

 

It was them who were too damaged and impaired to see the truth. Their souls were contaminated both by the treacherous lie that was the Garden and the despicable human race.

 

Gabriel sighed deeply as he descended the staircase.

 

His scepter struck a man down with a satisfying crack. The motion was smooth and casual as if Gabriel was simply taking a stroll and waved his arm in the air for no apparent reason. The middle-aged man collapsed on the floor and people didn't even suspect Gabriel when they turned around. They probably thought the man was having a heart attack or something along the same lines until Gabriel plunged the sharp end of his scepter in the man's chest. He jerked violently from the ground. The moment of total silence only lasted briefly before someone in the crowd began to scream. Once the silence was broken, the sound of terror and fear filled the air to the brim.

 

Gabriel's slender fingers caressed the air, drawing a curved line and suddenly a woman in a bright red dress fell to her knees and the tall angel was on her in an instant. He leaned down to grab her by her long blonde hair and dragged the screaming human to the door seeing as it was where she was so desperately running to before. ( _The poor thing must have thought there was a way out._ )

 

Once outside, he could see frenzied humans scampering and scrambling in disarray everywhere. Gabriel swung his scepter with more force this time and his power surged through him, making his skin tingle pleasantly in a rush of excitement. All the people suddenly tumbled and fell to their knees with shocked and bewildered gasps. Many of them started to cry in terror when they realized they couldn't get up on their feet as if the lower half of their legs were glued to the cold ground. Gabriel heard a trembling voice whispering from below,

 

"Monster."

 

The woman futilely attempted to back away on her hands and knees when he turned his attention to her. His pale and youthful face, which looked so deceptively kind and generous under the street light, smiled condescendingly down at her.

 

"I'm an _angel_ , child."

 

He reached one hand toward her face, ready to crush her disobedient jaw, but stopped when something white flashed in his peripheral vision. Gabriel quickly stepped aside in time to avoid a blazing materialization of energy hurled his way. It was shaped in the form of a shield and he recognized the weapon at once.

 

"Let these people go, Gabriel."

 

Michael's massive ivory white wings were as radiant as his famous shield. The wings moved steadily and powerfully now, sending gusts of wind toward Gabriel. Michael looked quite divine in midair. The clash of colors, the blond-haired angel clad in pure white and him dressed in jet black with his dark hair slicked back, was dramatic enough that it didn't go unnoticed by Gabriel.

 

"Sometimes I believe you enjoy theatricals as much as Lucifer."

 

"Gabriel."

 

At Michael's solemn voice, annoyance flickered across Gabriel's gold-green eyes.

 

"Your absolute confidence in others' obedience to your commands can be overwhelming, brother. I wish you could see how one might have his own wishes every so often."

 

"This is not what you want. It's the disease thirsting for destruction, not you. We know you would never wish to harm others, Gabriel. Come with me. Let us help you."

 

The sincerity in his words only made Gabriel's eyes dangerously cold.

 

"How generous of you to offer help," Gabriel said flatly.

 

The next moment, a yellow blast of power crashed Michael into the ground.

 

"But perhaps I do not need any."

 

Gabriel snarled and immediately aimed another blast but the other angel had moved away and was quick to get up on his feet. Michael was too good of a soldier to hesitate before throwing his shield toward Gabriel who now had his wide, brown-feathered wings out and was a few inches above the ground. Gabriel steered away with a grin and curled his wings slightly before darting toward his brother with the scepter in his hand. Michael's shield came back to him merely a second before Gabriel struck down. The collision was enough to send both of them tumbling backward and the clang of the celestial weapons was deafening.

 

Gabriel was ready to strike again when he felt the air fluttering at the back of his neck. A gust of wind soon followed and a voice came from behind him.

 

"Please don't stop for my sake."

 

Gabriel turned around to find a pair of familiar brown eyes staring back at him.

 

"Lucifer."

 

The angel smiled cheekily and the corner of his eyes crinkled as he asked,

 

"Missed me?"

 

"Oh, you can't imagine." Gabriel cooed.

 

"Ah. You always know what to say, darling."

 

Gabriel drew back a little, his wings flapping leisurely, to keep a reasonable distance from Michael as well as Lucifer.

 

"Although, I must say, I never imagined I'd live to see you on Michael's side, what a surprise."

 

"Michael's side? Who, me? Don't be silly, Gabe. I'd still choose you over him any day."

 

Gabriel's eyes glittered with amusement. He cocked his head to the side as he said,

 

"Then what are you doing here?"

 

"Heard you caught something nasty and as a good brother I am, thought I might check in on you."

 

Raising his eyebrow, Gabriel replied,

 

"How kind of you, but I'm perfectly in good health as you can see."

 

Lucifer pulled a face, throwing a suspicious glance toward Gabriel's way.

 

"Um, I'm not really sure about that, Gabe. 'Cause the last time I saw you, you were pretty strongly against slaughtering people."

 

Gabriel smiled and it would have looked possibly angelic if it wasn't so chilling.  

 

"Oh, that."

 

Strong gusts of winds rushed over them as Raziel and Ramiel joined them. Ramiel seemed clearly agitated at the sight of Gabriel but didn't say anything. It was likely that he didn't know what to say. The angels surrounded Gabriel. Nevertheless, Gabriel didn't look anxious, on the contrary, Lucifer noted, he managed to look quite pleased to see them.

 

"Come with us, Gabriel," Raziel calmly spoke, her face pleasantly blank.

 

Gabriel mockingly raised both his hands in surrender, at the same time, his scepter disappeared into thin air.

 

"I don't have a choice now, do I?"

 

Another bout of chaos broke out under them as humans scrambled to their feet, the strange power that held them down apparently gone. Lucifer watched with disinterest as they fled for their lives. The rest of the angels kept their eyes on Gabriel without sparing a single glance to the disoriented crowd.

 

Within minutes, Raziel and Michael had him bound and Lucifer choked out something like a laughter at the sight.

 

"Handcuffs? Seriously?"

 

"They are S.H.I.E.L.D issued angel restraining device," Raziel replied nonchalantly.

 

Lucifer scoffed, "Of course they are."

 

And then he added, "I'll never understand your fascination with shady organizations."  

 

The tip of her lips quirked ever so slightly but didn't say anything. Michael and Ramiel held the bound angel between them and took off in a flash of bright white feathers. It was when the two of them prepared to follow the other angels that Raziel finally opened her mouth with a crease between her brows.

 

"Something's not right."

 

Lucifer stared after the disappearing figures of his brothers and agreed.

 

"Too easy, yeah."

 

Raziel turned her head to Lucifer, meeting his eyes that, for once, looked as old as they actually were. Gabriel had been one of the first ones to leave the Garden after Lucifer, when they had just begun to realize the sanctuary was withering for the first time since it was created. A kind and wise soul he once had. She remembered Gabriel telling her in his gentle voice about the human children he watched grow, how they held on to life even when they knew it would soon end, how they learned to love and forgive and how they aged gracefully.

 

Raziel also remembered how Gabriel seemed upset when they all found out that Lucifer has left. Sure, everyone was upset when he left but after Gabriel heard the news, he stood there unmoving for a while, his fists clenched tight and his eyes deliberately cast downward so that no one could read the mixture of emotions in them. It could have been sadness, anger or grief but if she were to guess, she thought he had felt betrayed more than anything.

 

This, too, everyone felt. But perhaps Gabriel more so, because Lucifer was the only one Gabriel confided in about how his humans cried like they were all alone in the world even when he was right next to them, how they cursed their fate and God and him, how they bled themselves and each other, and how they all eventually crumbled to dust in the wink of an eye.

 

The cold night air brushed her cheeks as she gazed deep into her older brother's eyes. Lucifer was the first to turn his head away. Raven-black feathers drifted down as Lucifer spread his wings which spanned the night sky. They were of the darkest shade anyone could find on both heaven and earth, or just earth, she thought to herself, because it was all there was now.

 

"Don't worry, kid. Raph will find a cure."

 

She would have rolled her eyes if his voice wasn't so unusually soft.

 

Instead, she told him, "We still haven't found Uriel."

 

The name burned in her throat and she swallowed down whatever feeling that tried to creep up after it. She wasn't asking for comfort, she was simply stating a relevant fact that might help them figure out Gabriel's strategy. Lucifer simply nodded in acknowledgement. After that, they both set off to follow after the others without another word.  

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops another chapter!  
> I am still not sure where I'm going with this but then I saw the encouraging comments (thank you!) on the first chapter and just wanted to write more of it.  
> I apologize for the lack of Bucky.  
> Also, I couldn't help with a bit of FrostIron feels, I did warn you about that though.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
